Display package

ABSTRACT

A package having a flap formed on a panel thereof and being foldable outwardly to support the package on a base as a display. The package has a cover flap which can be extended over and locked to an outwardly folded prop flap to secure the latter flap against inward collapse.

United States Patent Judd 1 [451 Sept. 5, 1972 DISPLAY PACKAGE 72 Inventor: Charles R. Judd, 2628 st. George St., Port Mood, British Columbia, Canada 22 Filed: Oct. 26, 1970 21 Appl.No.: 83,905

301 Foreign Application Priority Data 4 Nov. 20, 1969 Canada ..067,925

52 us. Cl. ..206/45.26, 40/1521, 206/4527, 229/9 [51] Int. Cl. ..B65d 5/52 [58] field of Search ..206/45.245.27;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,377,487 6/1945 Fox ..4o/152. 1

2,675,913 Hanson ..206/45.2l 1,563,687 12/ 1925 Chaney ..206/45.26 UX 2,831,285 4/1958 Cross ..40/152.1 1,764,468 6/1930 Pratt ..206/45.27 X 3,322,264 5/1967 McNair et a1 ..206/45.25

Primary Examiner-Joseph R. Leclair Assistant Examiner-Steven E. Lipman Attorney-Fetherstonhaugh & Co.

[57], ABSTRACT A package having a flap formed on a panel thereof and being foldable outwardly to support the package on a base as a display. The package has a cover flap which can be extended over and locked to an outwardly folded prop flap to secure the latter flap against inward collapse.

- 5Claims,3l)rawingFiguns P'ATENIEDSEP 51912 INVENTQR CHARLES R. JUDD filmimlaqlzr ATYGRNIYS DISPLAY PACKAGE My invention relates generally to display packages and more particularly to a container which can be converted for use in displaying cigarettes, cigars and the like.

In order to produce a simply constructed article such as a cigarette pack so that it will stand firmly by itself, care must be taken not to do so in a way which will interfere with normal opening and closing of the pack or which' will not add to the cost of manufacturing the arti- .cle at least to any great extent. For example, there should be no protruding parts on the package which might make it awkward to handle or cause jamming in a cigarette dispensing machine or in a carton containing other such packages. The package supporting parts desirably are simple to operate so thatthe container can readily be converted from a closed box to an opened-topped display and vise versa.

I have found that these as well as other requirements of a convertible cigarette package can be met by cutting a prop member into one of the existing panels of the pack and using another existing part to reinforce that member in package supporting position. The pack has the appearance of a conventional box for cigarettes and can be opened and closed in the normal manner to extract a cigarette. There are no projections whatever which might interfere with the operation of the package and the flat, rectangular pack can be put into a pocket or packed with other such containers without difficulty. All the necessary parts are provided by a simple crease and a few incisions all of which can be provided at almost no additional cost to the manufacturer.

In drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an open display package, in accordance with the present invention,

FIG. 2 is an elevation, part broken away, of the rear face of the outer sleeve, and

FIG. 3 is a elevation of the front face of the inner holder.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral indicates generally a disposable cigarette package of the flat, rectangular type in common use today. Asshown in FIG. 1, the cigarette pack 10 comprises an outer sleeve 11, and an inner holder 12 in which cigarettes 14 are stored.

As shown best in FIG. 2, the open-ended sleeve 11 has a front panel 16, a rear panel 17, and sidewalls 18 and 19. All the sleeve parts are made of a single strip of light cardboard with the ends of the strips being glued together along a fold 20.

In FIG. 3, the holder 12 is shown to comprise a rear panel 24 having an infolded bottom flap 25 and side flaps 26 and 27. The upper portion of the holder 12 is creased transversly as at 30, 31 and 32 to provide a foldable cover flap 34. Like the sleeve 11, the holder 12 is formed from a single sheet of cardboard suitably cut and scored to form the aforementioned parts.

The flat, rectangular package thus far described is of conventional design, viz. the cigarette holder 12 is slidably mounted in the sleeve 11 and the flaps 25 and 34 normally are infolded to cover both ends of the cigarettes 14. The users fingers can be entered into the lower open end of the sleeve 11 to push the holder 12 part way out of the sleeve whereupon the cover flap 34 can be unfolded to provide access to the tips of the cigarettes.

Referring again to FIG. 2, rearpanel 17 will be seen to be scored vertically to provide a fold line .40. Preferably, this fold line 40 is located in the center of the panel 17 with said fold line terminating a short distance from upper and lower edges 41 and 42 of said rear panel.

The rear panel 17 is also provided with a number of interconnected slits which are designated by the numerals 44, 45, 46,47, and 48. Slit 44 is a short horizontal incision made in the panel 17 to connect with the upperend of the vertical fold line'40. The slit 45 is cut to slope diagonally downwards'from the slit 44 to the slit 46, the latter incisionextending a short distance alongside the wall 19 of the outer sleeve. To form the slit 47, panel 17 is cut at anacute angle, preferably 60, to the fold line 40. In other words, if line 40 and slit47 were both extended, the angle enclosed therebetween would be approximately 60. And finally, the slit 48 extends from the end of slit47 to the lower end of the fold line 40 a short .distance above lower edge 42, and at an angle of about 120 to said fold line. It will be noted that lower edge 42. curves upwardly between the side walls 18 and 19 and the reason for this curvature will be explained later.

Fold line 40, and the several slits cut into the rear panel 17, define a prop flap 50 which, generally speaking, is triangular in shape. The slits 44 to 48 may be simply perforated lines but I prefer to form them almost entirely of clean cut incisions so that the prop flap 50 can quickly and easily be bent away from the panel 17 In order to keep the'prop flap 50in the normal position which is in the same plane as the panel 17, see FIG. 2, I provide readily releasable means generally indicated at 54 for securing said flap to said panel. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the means 54 comprises a tack '55 which is formed by interrupting the slit 45 .at about midlength. Thus, the tack 55 is an uncut piece of the cardboard material, which piecebridges the slit 45 and connects the prop flap 50 to the rear panel 17. As long as the prop flap 50 is'not required for use, the tack 55 holds said flap in the same plane as the panel 17 and said panel is not weakened to any appreciable extent by the several cuts made therein. If desired other tacks (not shown) can be formed across one or more of the remaining slits but Iprefer to use only one tack so that the prop flap 50 can be freed from the panel 17 simply by slicing the tack55 using a fingernail to do so. The panel 24 of the holder 12, of course, is opposite the prop flap 50 when the package is closed and therefore the narrow slits 44 to48 do not expose the cigarettes to air so that they will dry out.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 3, the cover'flap 34 of the inner holder 12 is provided with a locking slit 60. This slit is cut into the center of the flap 34 near free edge 61 thereof. Locking slit 60 does not extend through the edge 61 but terminates just short of said edge to'provide a breakable tack 62. When the cover flap 34 is infolded to enclose the tips of the cigarettes, there is no likelihood of the folding action being hampered by the presence of the slit 60 since the tack 62 prevents the edge 61 from snagging on edge 64 (FIG. 2) of the front panel 16 on the outer sleeve.

To convert the package 10 from use-as' a container for the cigarettes to a cigarette display pack, tack 55 is broken to free the prop flap 50 which is then folded outwardly along the line 40 to a position where itis substantially perpendicular to the rear panel 17. The holder 12 is pushed up a short distance until the crease line 30 is above the upper edge 41 of the sleeve whereupon the cover flap 34 is unfolded to provide access to the tack 62 which is then broken by slicing with a fingernail. When the prop flap 50 is held perpendicular to the panel 17, it will be found that upper edge 65 (FIG. 1) of said flap is aligned with the centrally disposed and now open-ended locking slit 60. Also, it will be found that upper edge 65 of the prop flap is disposed at right angles to lower edge 66 (FIG. 1 only) of the cover flap 34. The cover flap 34 can be pushed down to enter the edge 65 into he'slit 60. The upper free edge 65 of the prop flap is wedged in slit 60 with sufficient force to keep the two connected parts from separating unless a slight pull is exerted on the cover flap 34. When the flap 34 and 50 are locked together in this manner, the cover flap 34 braces the prop flap 50 so that the reinforced prop flap cannot collapse or fold inwardly.

The package with the flaps 34 and 50 assembled as described can be placed on any flat surface such as a store counter or a coffee table in a home and the pack will then stand by itself. The angularly disposed slit 47 provides the prop flap 50 with a lower edge 68 (FIG. 1) which bears against the supporting surface and, since this lower edge is disposed at approximately 60 to the fold line 40, the package 10 is inclined rearwardly at an angle of about 30, see FIG. 1.

' The natural tendency of the panel 17 is to bulge rearwardly to a slight extent, particularly when the pack is full of cigarettes. Normally, this would make the rear wardly inclined display package slightly unsteady but since the lower edge 42 of the rear panel is upwardly curved as shown in FIG. 1, said lower edge is spaced preferably a very short distance above the base on which the package is supported. This provides the package 10 with three points of contact with the base, viz., the lower edge 68 and the rear corners A and B (see particularly FIG. 2) of the package. Thus, the package 10 rests on the store counter or other base in such a way as to be firmly supported against tipping. The rearwardly inclined position of the open topped package displays the tips of the cigarettes 14 so that they catch the eye and also so that the tips can readily be grasped between the fingers when it is desired to remove the cigarettes from the box.

It should be noted that the cardboard fibers tend to urge the prop flap 50 towards the closed position even though said flap has been firmly folded along the line 40. The cover flap 34 braces the prop flap 50 and resists this tendency to close but I have found that the stresses can be relieved by cutting the slit 48 at an angle greater than 90 to the fold line 40. Thus, a lower-inner edge 70 (FIG. 1) is provided at an obtuse angle to both the fold line 40 and the lower edge 68 and this tends to stabilize the package 10in the display position.

If it later becomes necessary to carry the display package in a pocket or purse, the cover flap 34 is pulled off the prop flap 50 to permit inward folding of both flaps. The cover flap 34 is infolded over the tips of the cigarettes and the holder 12 is pushed all the way into the outer sleeve 11. Prop flap 50 is pressed against the rear panel 24 of the holder and it will be found that when said flap is later released, it will remain substantially in the same plane as the rear panel 17. The display panel then is hardly distinquishable from a conventional cigarette pack and can be opened and closed and stored away as easily as a conventional pack.

From the foregoing, it will be seen I have provided a display package which is extremely economical to produce since no additional cardboard or other material is required. The package can quickly and easily be converted for use either as an attractive article of display or as a normal container for cigarettes and the like. If desired, the slits 44 to 48 can be simply incisions made by machine stamping the cardboard rear panel 17. Such incisions would be made from the outer surfaces of the panel 17 so that the opposing side edges of each slit were wedged together. Thus, the tack 55 could be dispensed with and the slight wedging action of the opposing side edges of the several slits could be relied upon normally to retain the prop flap 50 in the same plane as the rear panel 17.

I claim:

1. A display package comprising an outer sleeve having a rear panel, said rear panel having a vertical fold line and a plurality of connected slits, a prop flap defined on the rear panel by the fold line and the connected slits, at least one of said connected slits being interrupted to provide a tack releasably securing the prop flap in a normal position coplanar with the rear panel, said prop flap being foldable outwardly along the fold line to a package-supporting position substantially perpendicular to the rear panel, an inner holder slidably mounted in the outer sleeve and having a foldable cover flap, said cover flap normally being infolded into the sleeve and being extendable rearwardly to overhang the prop flap in the package-supporting position, said prop flap and cover flap respectively having lower and upper free edges disposed at right angles to one another when the prop flap is in package-supporting position and the cover flap is extended thereabove, one of the free edges having a locking slit to receive the other of said free edges whereby the cover flap braces the prop flap in package-supporting position.

2. A display package as claimed in claim 1, and including a breakable tack on said one free edge normally closing an adjacent end of the locking slit.

3. A display package as claimed in claim 1, in which said prop flap has a base-contacting lower edge disposed at an acute angle to the fold line whereby the package is supported in a rearwardly inclined position by said prop flap.

4. A display package as claimed in claim 1, in which said rear panel has an upwardly curved base-contacting lower edge.

5. A display package as claimed in claim 1, in which said prop flap has lower-inner edge disposed at an obtuse angle to the fold line. 

1. A display package comprising an outer sleeve having a rear panel, said rear panel having a vertical fold line and a plurality of connected slits, a prop flap defined on the rear panel by the fold line and the connected slits, at least one of said connected slits being interrupted to provide a tack releasably securing the prop flap in a normal position coplanar with the rear panel, said prop flap being foldable outwardly along the fold line to a package-supporting position substantially perpendicular to the rear panel, an inner holder slidably mounted in the outer sleeve and having a foldable cover flap, said cover flap normally being infolded into the sleeve and being extendable rearwardly to overhang the prop flap in the package-supporting position, said prop flap and cover flap respectively having lower and upper free edges disposed at right angles to one another when the prop flap is in package-supporting position and the cover flap is extended thereabove, one of the free edges having a locking slit to receive the other of said free edges whereby the cover flap braces the prop flap in package-supporting position.
 2. A display package as claimed in claim 1, and including a breakable tack on said one free edge normally closing an adjacent end of the locking slit.
 3. A display package as claimed in claim 1, in which said prop flap has a base-contacting lower edge disposed at an acute angle to the fold line whereby the package is supported in a rearwardly inclined position by said prop flap.
 4. A display package as claimed in claim 1, in which said rear panel has an upwardly curved base-contacting lower edge.
 5. A display package as claimed in claim 1, in which said prop flap has lower-inner edge disposed at an obtuse angle to the fold line. 